Welcome to issue 51 of the Inside EV Charging newsletter.
The US charging market has never rewarded careful planning over speed. But 2025 has flipped the script. Now it’s not about who builds fastest, it’s about who can adapt fastest when everything changes underneath them. The opportunities come fast: federal priorities shift, suppliers consolidate, prime locations open with week-long decision windows, and utilities launch new revenue partnership programs. The operators capturing them share one thing: EV charging management platforms that pivot as fast as the market moves. This edition features guest contributor Steve Birkett, Editor at Plug & Play EV, who dives into how adaptability has become the defining competitive edge for U.S. charging network operators – and why the fastest builders are no longer the biggest winners. But first, here’s what’s happening across the industry this week.
EV Charging Insights
⚡ Europe ⚡
EU EV sales surge despite overall car market stagnation: EV registrations rose nearly 25% across the EU from January to August 2025, reaching a 15.8% market share. Germany (+39%) and Spain (almost doubled) led growth, while France dipped slightly overall. Ireland to open 90 new fast-charging hubs: Ireland will deploy 192 high-power chargers along 2,900 km of key roads, significantly expanding national coverage and driver convenience.
Duracell launches UK-wide ultra-fast charging network: The iconic battery brand unveiled Duracell E-Charge, a £200 million initiative to build a nationwide network of ultra-fast EV chargers, with the first sites going live in 2025. TotalEnergies and Banque des Territoires launch infrastructure fund: The new investment platform will accelerate France’s EV charging rollout. Kia rolls out Plug & Charge in Europe and North America: The new feature enables seamless authentication and payment at public chargers, removing the need for apps or RFID cards.
⚡ North America ⚡
Record quarter for U.S. fast-charging growth: The U.S. added 779 new DC fast-charging locations in Q3 2025—a 19% increase year-to-date—marking its strongest quarter yet despite shifting federal policies. Federal EV tax credits expire: The U.S. federal tax credit for new and used EVs officially ended, though several states plan to continue offering their own incentives.
⚡ Global ⚡
Australia launches new vehicle-to-grid trials: Utilities AGL and Origin Energy are testing bi-directional charging to let EVs feed electricity back into the grid. Kenya to build 10,000 public charging stations by 2030: The government committed 6 billion KES (€39.5 million) to expand national charging access. Argentina to install 400 public charging points: Buenos Aires launched the “Electromovilidad Porteña” program, authorizing up to 400 chargers in public and private-accessible spaces via a streamlined regulatory framework.
Why Adaptability Has Become the Defining Competitive Edge for US Network Operators
Guest analysis by Steve Birkett, Editor, Plug & Play EV
Bottom Line Up Front: The US charging networks succeeding in 2025 aren’t the ones with perfect five-year plans. They’re the ones whose EV charging management platform lets them pivot to capture opportunities as they emerge and respond to NEVI shifts, utility partnerships, or AI-driven grid demands without touching their core operations.
What’s driving the opportunity boom
I’ve spent the year tracking charging deployments across North America for The Weekly 1.21, and the success stories are remarkably consistent: operators with flexible infrastructure are saying “yes” to opportunities that others have to pass on. Four market dynamics are creating these opportunities right now: Federal funding is back for operators ready to deploy: The NEVI restart created winners and losers based entirely on operational flexibility. States like Pennsylvania kept building because operators already under contract could pivot to state-only requirements without touching their base architecture. Others spent months in limbo, waiting for vendors to adapt rigid systems. Utility demand response programs are creating new revenue streams: Data centers and AI infrastructure are creating unprecedented electricity demand, and utilities are launching lucrative demand response programs. The operators winning these partnerships can integrate demand response programs without rebuilding their energy management stack. Those who can’t? They’re competing solely on location and price. Hardware consolidation favors vendor-agnostic platforms: When hardware manufacturers fail or get acquired, operators with vendor-agnostic platforms switch suppliers in weeks. Those tied to specific hardware face months-long deployment delays and stranded assets. Market maturation and standardization mean operators can now choose best-in-class solutions for each component, optimizing cost and performance without vendor lock-in.
Multiple market segments are expanding simultaneously: Network operators serving multiple segments need platforms that configure differently for each without maintaining separate systems. Multi-segment players are growing faster and building more resilient businesses.
How platform architecture turns opportunities into a competitive advantage
The market dynamics above create openings, but only network operators with the right EV charging management platform can move fast enough to capture them. Here’s how platform capabilities translate market opportunities into actual business wins: Multi-state scalability enables geographic expansion Operating across state lines means navigating different reporting requirements, compliance standards, and uptime mandates. Platforms need to handle this without touching operations in other markets so that a change in California shouldn’t require any adjustments in Texas. Platforms that can handle state-specific requirements let operators enter new states and adapt to local requirements quickly, allowing them to grow regionally while maintaining operational efficiency. Transparent data architecture attracts institutional capital
As institutional investors flow into US charging networks, they’re demanding transparency into unit economics and cost structures. Network operators using fragmented systems that require manual reconciliation can’t demonstrate the operational discipline investors expect. Platforms that provide consolidated reporting and clear cost structures across markets attract the capital needed for aggressive growth. Flexible integration enables revenue diversification
Each state has different demand response programs and wholesale market structures, and utility partnership opportunities. The ability to integrate state-specific requirements while maintaining the same core platform determines which partnerships operators can pursue. EV charging management platforms that are built for integration let operators layer in new revenue streams that improve overall network economics and reduce dependence on charging fees alone. Flexible platforms unlock changing funding programs Federal priorities will continue shifting as programs evolve. The platforms that let network operators adapt easily and quickly to changing requirements—from public corridor charging to private fleet depots, from retail to wholesale models—will capture funding others miss.
Real-life example of how adaptability creates competitive advantage
For an agile player in the US market, look no further than Electric Era. Starting out as a local charging operator in the Pacific Northwest, Electric Era quickly leveraged independent agreements with site hosts as proof of concept. From that base, the company leaned into prominent partnerships with Skycharger and retail giant Costco to expand on both coasts and demonstrate the value of its rapid deployment (just 54 days, in one headline-grabbing case). With public funding awards at both the state and federal levels, Electric Era is also bolstering its private sector success with targeted public sector wins. Identifying underutilized site hosts to carve out a niche is another area where flexible operators are finding success. New York’s ChargeSmart EV, for example, has developed an impressive pipeline of upcoming sites across the Northeast by specifically targeting the hospitality sector. While headlines focused on the land grab across North America for charging deployments at gas stations and truck stops, ChargeSmart pivoted to hotels and resorts. Starting with widespread L2 deployments across upstate New York, the company is now finding demand for larger DC fast charging installations across the region. Another opportunity lies in rehabilitating existing locations that are old or abandoned. Up to now, infrastructure in the US and Canada has been in the ground for 5-10 years. That first wave of installations is beginning to age out, with maintenance contracts expiring and, in some unfortunate cases, operators exiting the market completely. This presents a chance for adaptable operators with a stronger operational foundation to enter new markets, often at prime locations. EVerged provides a perfect example of this rehabilitation model in San Diego, CA, where the company is currently replacing broken hardware at dozens of municipal locations. Once replacements are complete, EVerged also has the contract to install and operate new chargers for the city over the next decade. The company’s “Zero-Cost Swap” program offers existing site hosts in the same situation a way to get their EV charging offering back on track with minimal hassle.
What this means for network operators
While the US charging market is expanding rapidly, it’s important to acknowledge the sheer scale that some of the new players bring. I have started to call nationwide operators like IONNA and Walmart Energy the sleeping giants of North American EV charging. They offer only a handful of sites today, but they both plan to blanket the continent with the latest charging hardware over the next few years. Smart operators don’t want to go head-to-head with those networks, but they will identify gaps in the coverage area or service offering of the larger players and look to fill them. Some of the questions to ask in the search for these opportunities are:How appealing is the potential location to established and aspiring national operators? Are there nearby alternatives that are almost as compelling for us that would not work for competitors?Is the state (or local municipality or utility) moving to bridge gaps in federal funding to keep EV adoption on track?What site categories are overlooked in our target market? What partnerships would yield the quickest results for expansion into this site type? What operational efficiencies or unique product benefits does our offering bring that would make it more appealing than a larger operator? Which public funding programs or state approaches align closely with those qualities?When we are successful in a specific segment of the market, are there adjacent segments with high potential that require similar solutions? Can we quickly revamp one successful deployment strategy into a distinct yet similar new market segment?
Executing on the opportunities
Identifying gaps is only half the equation. Capturing them requires a platform that enables three critical capabilities: geographic scalability across state lines, business model flexibility across customer segments, and partnership readiness to integrate new revenue streams as they emerge.
Thanks for reading the Inside EV Charging Newsletter with AMPECO.
The operators this week understand something fundamental: in a market moving this fast, your platform architecture is either your competitive advantage or your bottleneck.
Next week, we’ll share insights from operators and industry experts on the strategic shifts defining successful networks in today’s market.
